It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Hello there! I hope that your weather has been better than ours. Yesterday it was so wet and windy, Mr Josiekitten and I decided that we'd spend the weekend cooking. Our Christmas pudding (courtesy of Delia Smith - truly delicious!) is on its last 2 hours of steaming, until Christmas day. Mr Josiekitten braved the elements to pick some cabbages, and there are 3 tubs of braised red cabbage with apples (good old Delia!) ready for the freezer. The bread sauce (yes, her again!) is in the freezer too! The whole house smells so Christmassy, I love it!

While we're talking about Christmas, I must share with you the lovely little decorations I made at a 'Knitting for Christmas' workshop I went to at my LYS. Becky had come up with lots of simple projects for us to try, using Ashford Tekapo yarn. It comes in a lovely range of colours, and we knitted it on smaller needles than suggested to get a denser fabric.

I just love, love, love the little tree! I'm going to try to knit a few of these to send to friends and family this year.

I managed to make a couple during the session.

I also had a go at a little robin

and a stocking.

I'm going to make some more stockings to try out my recently-acquired beading and intarsia skills. Don't you just love the ribbon trim? It's Louisa Harding Sari Ribbon, and the colours are just gorgeous! Bright, jewel like shades just glowing and sparkling. I might get some to use instead of gift ribbon for wrapping presents. Just take a closer look and I bet you'll want some too!

I've finished the first of my November socks and am loving the pattern. I've actually followed the pattern as written, without adding any extra stitches, and it fits perfectly. The yarn is beautiful too, and has been much admired.

I just love the colour changes, don't you?

No significant progress made on either of the 2 scarves I'm knitting. It's definitely been a sock week this week. I also finished my 'Eat your Greens' socks for Michele's Dad. They were made using the Violet Green sock generator pattern - I find this a reliable pattern for a custom-fit plain sock. I hope he likes them.

Before I go, I must just share this photo with you - it's definitely sock-wearing season again! A week's worth of cosy toes drying! Have a good week.

Knitting all sorts

It's been a busy week here in North Norfolk. Coming home in the dark is pretty grim! And the air has a definite nip in it! But at least it gives me the perfect excuse to wear one of my (many) scarves! I have lots of knitting to show you, but first I'll fill you in on our weekend adventures. We drove down to Portsmouth to see family, leaving Norfolk on Friday evening. Mr Josiekitten was driving, and I had a rather cunning plan to allow me to knit in the car, in the dark! I borrowed Mr Josiekitten's clip on light that he uses when playing the guitar. A perfect solution, and I don't know why I didn't think of it before. I managed to knit almost down to the heel of my 'Eat your Greens' socks before disaster struck. We were driving round the M25, just over the bridge, heading round towards J10, in the rain, when the windscreen wiper on Mr Josiekitten's side suddenly sheared off!!!!! Picture the scene if you can - a busy motorway in the dark and the rain. Luckily for me, Mr Josiekitten remained very calm, and by hunching himself over towards me to see through the clear part of the windscreen, managed to drive the car until the rain eased off. On the other hand, I was so stressed that even my knitting couldn't calm me down, and I had to put it away for fear of snapping my wooden needles gripping them so hard! I was mighty glad when we finally arrived in Portsmouth, some 6 hours after leaving home. I had a yarn shop-free weekend, but Mr Josiekitten more than made up for my lack of spending! We had to pick up a guitar that he'd bought off eBay, and also just happened to be very close to Nevada music - most convenient as they were celebrating 40 years of trading with lots of special offers! I guess that it was the equivalent of me being in a yarn shop to Mr Josiekitten. He came away with an electric mandolin, and another guitar stand. Here's a very small part of guitar heaven ............

On the way back, we called in at Sainsbury's, and I just had to take this photo.....

Mr Josiekitten made himself scarce while I ooh-ed and aah-ed over the Innocent Smoothie hats! I had to explain what I was doing to a rather bemused lady, who asked me if I'd had anything to do with the little hats. So I was very proudly able to say 'YES!!!'

Time for a knitting update. I have finally finished my July socks! I am so pleased, you can't imagine. These socks (well, the yarn really) have been tormenting me for months! I just couldn't find a pattern to go with the yarn, and finally settled on Jules by Kate Blackburn. The yarn is Lorna's Laces in the colourway Desert Flower. The pattern is lovely, and very easy to memorise.

I also finished my October socks (and in October too!!) The pattern is Garter Rib from Charlene Schurch's book, Sensational Knitted Socks. I knitted them toe-up, as I was using some Koigu KPPPM yarn, and was worried about running out. I love the colours of the yarn in the skein better than how they turned out in the socks - a bit too much pooling. I did short row toe and heel, and I am definitely getting neater.

I finished my Noro Snuggly comfort scarf for Lesley. She was thrilled and totally surprised, as she hadn't realised that I'd knitted my Lizzy cardigan. I managed to use up most of the left over yarn to make a pretty decent length scarf.

I've made a good start on my November socks. I'm using a Trekking yarn, and am enjoying the subtle colour changes as I knit the Primavera pattern. It's a 6 row pattern repeat, with only one row that really needs much concentration. Here's how they're looking so far.....

The aforementioned 'Eat Your Greens' socks are progressing well, and should be done this weekend. I'm making them for Michele to give to her Dad for Christmas. Photo next time. Talking of Christmas, I'm also making a scarf for Michele. It's the Drop Stitch scarf pattern that I used in the summer, only this time I'm using a Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend yarn - oooooh yummy!

Because I'm of the opinion that there's no such thing as 'too many scarves', I've started a Baktus scarf for myself, using a Crazy Zauberball and a ball of purple Elle sock yarn. I've seen some stunning ones on Ravelry, so am hoping that mine will turn out ok too! Not much to show so far.....

I took part in a swap on the Phoenix Knitting Forums. The theme was 'Something Blue', and you had to knit something in the favourite shade of blue of your swappee. I made Beech Wood, a beautifully textured cowl designed by Ilga Leja, using Colinette Cadenza yarn. I love the pattern and the yarn, and will probably make one for me too!

My swappee likes baking, so I made her one of these. Can you guess what it is before you get to the last photo?!

A doughnut pincushion! A bit daft, but hopefully of some use too! I've just signed up for another swap, this time Christmas themed. I'm off to my local yarn store this weekend for a workshop on Christmas knits, so I'm hoping for some inspiration! I'll show you what I made next time. Bye for now!

Cinq jours en Bretagne

Hello again! I'm back blogging as I didn't get a chance to tell you all about our stay in Brittany yesterday. We had a fantastic time, meeting up with some old friends - Isabelle, Catherine and Brigitte, who were very keen to show us their corner of France. The weather was amazing, only one cloudy day, and we spent a lot of time walking on some stunning beaches. Brittany is reknowned for its shellfish - oysters, mussels, scallops to name but a few, and I really wish that I liked these delicacies. Sadly, to me, it's like chewing salty rubber! However, Brittany is equally famous for its salted butter, which is made into the most delicious caramel imaginable. Luckily for me, I do love it!

Do you see what I mean about the beaches?

We explored some old towns and villages. Many of the houses have a statue of St Catherine, Mary's mother, above the front door for good luck. We were told how to spot an old house, as opposed to a new house made to look 'old'! The front door is always lower than the windows. Some had the date carved into the stone around the door. The oldest we saw dated back to the 1600's.

As well as sampling the local caramel au beurre sale (salted butter caramel), we made sure that we tried the pancakes or galettes, made with buckwheat flour. Every town seemed to have a handful of creperies, so we were spoilt for choice. Mr Josiekitten enjoyed the cidre rustique (local cider), and my mouth watered in the bakeries and patisseries. Feast your eyes on this yummy selection!

We stayed in a lovely B&B on the coast. The house was packed with interesting objects, and was beautifully decorated throughout. Our wardrobe had a place for everything, so of course, I put things where I was told!

Take a look at our room. See if you can spot anything 'unusual'?!

Well? Does anything strike you as odd or missing perhaps? Take another look! The photos show the bedroom and bathroom. The thing we found strange was the lack of a door between the two rooms. Mr Josiekitten took this photo to illustrate the 'problem'. (Hope nobody's offended!)

No trip could ever be complete with out the opportunity to fondle some yarn, and I'd gone well-prepared! A bit of searching on Ravelry lead me to a wonderful yarn shop in Nantes called Laine et Tricot. I made contact with Gwenola, the owner, beforehand, and persuaded Mr Josiekitten that he'd love to make a one hour detour for me! It's run mainly as an online business from home, so there isn't a 'proper' shop. The yarn is all stored in the garage, which has become Gwenola's office.

I had to be restrained, as we didn't have a huge amount of room in our luggage, but I bought 2 skeins of Kouigu KPPPM which called out to me to become another chevron scarf, some Hand Maiden Sea Silk which feels soooooooooo luxurious, and also some Malabrigo lace yarn in the colourway Oceanos, to remind me of the beautiful beaches of Brittany. I also discovered a French brand called Cheval Blanc, and bought 14 balls of Bamboulene, a machine-washable mix of 50% bamboo and 50% wool, in a variety of shades of green and blue. I'd like to make a blanket, maybe crocheted, with it. It was amazingly cheap at only 1 Euro 90 cents a ball. I do like a nice bargain!!! Have a look and see what you think.

I did get some knitting done and have managed to finish my October socks, and the Noro snuggly comfort scarf. I'll show you how they turned out next time. I'm pretty sure I've settled on my choice of pattern for November's socks, and I'll try to get started on them today, so that I have something more to show you. It's a miserable day here in North Norfolk - heavy rain - so it's the perfect opportunity for some guilt-free knitting time! Until next time, have fun!

Blankets, buttons and beads

Bonjour my friends! I'm back from Brittany, bursting with things to tell you about our few days en France. More of that later. First, I simply have to tell you about a workshop I went to yesterday. Meg, the lady who organises our knitting group, had arranged for Debbie Abrahams to come and give a workshop on blankets and throws. There were only twelve of us taking part, so it meant that we were really able to benefit from all Debbie's expertise. What a lovely person she is too. (I love her sweater - knitted in 4 ply, I think, with about 1000 beads knitted into it. Just the thought of threading all those beads onto the yarn before starting to knit gives me palpitations! But it was worth it - it looked stunning!)

She brought a selection of her blankets and throws along with her for inspiration, along with copies of some of her books.

We each had to choose a square to knit, according to what techniques we wanted to learn. I've been wanting to learn how to knit with beads for sometime now, so I chose a square from the Four Seasons quilt - a Christmas tree! This square also involved colourwork, so I was able to practise my intarsia - something I've not done since I first started knitting as a teenager, and picture knits were all the rage! (That must age me!) Debbie circulated around the group all day, giving advice, teaching new skills, and just generally enthusing us. She said that she loved knitting with beads, and that it would be a life changing experience for us! It was! It's incredibly simple to do, and it's amazing how it transforms a piece of knitting from something rather ordinary, to something rather beautiful. Here's my square....

I'm so proud of my little Christmas tree! The beads are all knitted into the design, and the light green edging was Swiss darned on afterwards. Here's a close up of just the tree!!

Take a look at some of the other squares that were knitted...........

At the end of the day, there was the opportunity to purchase some of Debbie's lovely beads and buttons. The beads are just perfect for knitting, as the hole is big enough for DK or 4 ply yarn to go through, even though the beads themselves look quite delicate. And the buttons are made by Debbie's Mum! I couldn't resist the two sets I bought, even though I don't have a project lined up for them at the moment! I also bought a DVD showing all the techniques (and more!) that Debbie shared with us.

I already had one of Debbie's books, Blankets and Throws to Knit, so I took it along to get it signed!

It certainly was happy knitting! And I have a sneaky suspicion that 2010 may well be the Year of the Blanket! You'll have to come back and see on January 1st next year!

Most fetching!

I've made a discovery this week. Knitting and a runny nose do not go well together! I've had a cold, and have not managed to get a great deal done! I did finish the hat to go with the Fetchings I made earlier in the year. I based the pattern on this one, and had to jiggle around with stitch numbers to get it to (hopefully) the right size! I made up the decreases at the crown, trying to make them fit in with the pattern as best I could. I actually like the hat a lot, and may well make one for myself at some point. Another one for the ever increasing 'to do' list! Here's how it turned out.....

It's made using Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran yarn on 4mm needles, and it feels soooooo velvety. I hope that Brigitte will like the hat and mits set. We shall be seeing her next week when we spend a few days in Brittany. Talking of Brittany, I have been doing a little bit of sneaky advance planning for our holiday, and I've found a tres jolie yarn shop in Nantes. It is about an hour in the opposite direction to the way we will need to be driving, so my mission now is to convince Mr Josiekitten that Nantes is Not To Be Missed!! I will keep you informed of my progress!

I've had a lovely, totally non-knitting weekend too. Four of my old university friends came to stay. It's more than 20 years since we graduated, and we've managed to keep in touch all this time. We get together once a year, and this year it was my turn to host. We're scattered all over England, from Devon to Norfolk, so it requires some major logistics for us all to get together! We had a lovely time, catching up with news, eating far too much delicious food (I highly recommend Delia Smith's chocolate bread and butter pudding!), going for beach walks and playing all sorts of board games. We're always on the look out for a new one, and this year it was Qwirkle that kept us entertained! Mr Josiekitten spent much of the weekend outside, either digging the garden or pottering in his shed!

I'm hoping to make a start on my October socks this week. They will be coming with me to France, so with a bit of luck, I should have a finished pair to show you next time. Au revoir!

Great minds!

It's not been a very productive knitting week chez josiekitten this week. I've fiddled about with lots of different projects, then frogged back, and haven't got a great deal to show for all my efforts! I have started a scarf for a friend who sings in the choir I belong to. She admired my Lizzy cardigan when I wore it to a rehearsal, and jokingly asked if she could have it as it was in 'her' colours. She is undergoing chemotherapy at the moment and is feeling a bit low, so I thought that I'd knit her a scarf with the leftovers to brighten her day a little. I'm using the Ribs and Ruffles pattern, and as the yarn is thinner than the recommended one, I cast on 108 stitches to make it wide enough - this reduces to 27 stitches once the ruffle is done. I hope I've got enough Silk Garden left over to make a decent length scarf. Here's how it's looking so far...

.......... and this is how much yarn I have left over to play with.......

I shall do my best to match colour changes at the end of balls, and hope for the best!

I've also done a little more on my Katerina shawl. It's knitted in Manos del Uruguay yarn, and I am seriously in love with it! It's not the sort of pattern that I can knit with any distractions around me, so I think it's going to grow fairly slowly. I've just finished the leafy pattern, as you can see in this photo.....

The yarn is an absolute delight to knit with, and goes a long, long way! I'm sure that I'll be using it again. (I have 3 skeins in my stash, so I'm certain!!!!)

I've also started a hat to go with the Fetchings I made in the summer holidays. I'm loosely following this pattern, and after a false start casting on 100 stitches (too small), I've gone for 120 and am crossing my fingers that it will fit 2nd time round. I'm not quite sure how I will work out the decreases at the crown yet, but I'll worry about that when I get there! It looks a bit strange at the moment, and not at all hat-like!

I bought some beads this week to go with the gorgeous Handmaiden yarn I got from Cathy in my skein swap. I got them from Beads Direct, and can thoroughly recommend them for an excellent service. I think that I'm going to make a beaded Springtime Bandit scarf - watch this space! I love how the beads pick out the colours of the yarn.....

The photo doesn't show the true colours of the yarn as I had to use my flash, but you can get a good idea! Beads Direct is a wonderful Aladdin's cave. I had to be very restrained because I could have bought loads of beads, with no real projects in mind, just because they looked so pretty! I'm easily pleased! Cathy received her parcel this week and was thrilled with the Natural Dye Studio yarn I sent. I also sent her a bag of fine Shetland fleece from Jamieson and Smith, as she has just started spinning. We both agreed that it had been a lot of fun, and plan to do another skein swap next year.

School has been a bit grotty this week, so I decided that I'd treat myself to some new yarn when I went into Norwich this weekend. I want to knit this scarf using the wonderful Rowan Colourscape yarn. It's not that I need a new scarf, or even a new project to start knitting, but you know how it is when you have a woolly obsession niggling away inside you!! Imagine my surprise when I noticed on Ravelry that my good friend Snoopydog had had exactly the same idea, and had even stashed the same colourway (431 Cherry) that I wanted! I sent her a message on Ravelry, joking that I'd not be amused if she'd had the last 2 skeins off the shelf! I called into John Lewis to buy the yarn, only to discover that she HAD taken the last 2 skeins!! I nearly texted her on the spot to complain! And then, who should I meet, but Snoopydog! She was kind enough to offer me the yarn if I was desperate to knit the scarf now this minute, but since I'm not really, I couldn't take the yarn from her!! I may have to satisfy my yarn cravings online (and you never know, just a little bit more yarn might just fall into my basket in the process!) I'll let you know if I've succumbed next time! Have a good week!

Autumn blackberries

I know I only blogged yesterday, but I just had to share this with you! When I got home from work today, there, sat on the mat was a squishy parcel with an airmail sticker on it! Yay! It was my skein swap parcel from Cathy. We got chatting on Ravelry after I commented on her socks, and decided that we would swap a skein of yarn - me sending something British (Natural Dye Studio Dazzle), and Cathy sending me something Canadian. Cathy has just been on a knitting holiday in the Maritimes in Canada, and I knew she was visiting some amazing yarn producers, and she sent me a skein of Handmaiden Casbah yarn, in the most gorgeous shades of purple and deep pink. It is sooooooo soft and squishy, you cannot believe it. I have it here, right in front of me, to admire as I type. The colourway is Blackberry, and I can just picture all those plump, juicy berries ripening. Take a look......

I have recently bought a jacket, and I think that this yarn may well be destined to become a scarf or shawl to accessorise! It goes perfectly.

Cathy also sent me a bag of Maple Syrup toffees, and they are delicious! I shall have to hide them away from Mr Josiekitten, as although he claims he doesn't have a sweet tooth, he does like maple syrup! In the meantime, I'm off in search of the perfect pattern!